Francewho had months of complicated relationships with Algeria Because of his desire to deport his undocumented immigrants, he wanted to calm the tense atmosphere with two gestures. First, offer air and ground assets to fight the fires that are ravaging the country and that nearly 40 deaths have already been reported; and the second, Macron’s visit on Thursday to his counterpart Abdelmadjid Teboun to “deepen bilateral relations for the benefit of the populations of both countries,” as announced by the French government in a statement.
A) Yes, Emmanuel Macron takes the lead in relation to Spain, which has had months of established relations since the recognition of Saharan autonomy. The French President will travel to Algeria to address three main issues: gas, immigration and regional situation, trying to “strengthen cooperation” between the two countries.
The French government, in order for the meeting to take place, has already taken steps to please Algeria. Last Monday, without further ado, he withdrew his last troops from the operation Barkhane from Mali, country bordering Algeria after fighting armed groups for more than nine years. A) Yes, Macron intends to follow the path of Mario Draghi, that with two visits he managed to make Algeria the first supplier of gas to Italy.
Abdelmadjid Teboun, President of Algeria, at a diplomatic meeting held in February.
Likewise, Macron will also influence “keep up the work of calming the memories” – as Elysée acknowledged in a statement – in relation to the continuous friction surrounding Algeria’s pre- and post-independence history.
The other big issue that will be discussed will be the position of France for him Sahara and the change of position Spaina topic that was already present at another meeting in June between the heads of diplomacy of France, Catherine Colonna and Ramtane Lamamra from Algeria.
Gas, the biggest concern
France’s approach comes as autumn is weeks away and thermometers are starting to drop across the continent, and this is in addition to after rejecting the construction of a gas pipeline between the Iberian Peninsula and Europe Central to supply gas to the entire old continent.
France supports this building the pipeline will take too long and that it will not be able to respond to the current energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and all subsequent penalties. “This would undermine the goals against the climate crisis,” the French government said.
From France they are betting on the construction of a number of alternatives such as the construction of terminals for ships loaded with natural gas coming from the Persian Gulf countries or USA. “They require smaller investments and are faster,” they claim.
Given this situation, France has reopened its relations with Algeria to evaluate the possibility of becoming a preferred partner for obtaining Algerian gas, as Italy has done. Next, for its part, Spain, which continues to have no contact with Algeria since it recognized the autonomy of the Sahara.